ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — Englewood firefighters are using a hurricane-damaged dental office as a training ground to practice life-saving rescue techniques.
The Englewood Area Fire Control District conducted a realistic simulation in the building, where crews practiced responding to a roof-collapse scenario and rescuing a trapped firefighter.
Watch Fox 4's Allie Kaiser get an inside look at the simulation training:
"It puts a realistic approach on us," Lieutenant Creighton Laster said.
The training is part of a program the department started in October, focusing on firefighter safety and rescue operations.
"We train a lot on protecting the citizens and the visitors of Englewood. This one is to protect ourselves in case we get in trouble," Deputy Chief Rob Blasetti said.
During the exercise, firefighters broke down doors and navigated through the building to reach a simulated trapped colleague after a roof collapse. The training allows crews to practice communication protocols and coordinate rescue efforts in realistic conditions.
Laster said these exercises help identify and address operational challenges.
"We can work on that communication process and work on spreading the span of control of troops while they're working inside the structure or working on the fire," Laster said.
The hurricane-damaged dental office offers a more authentic training environment than Englewood Fire's usual training facility.
"We have a four-story burn building that's been there for years, and they know it; we can only change it up as much as we can," Blasetti said.
Englewood Fire says that community donations of damaged or abandoned buildings help enhance its training capabilities.
"A lot of these buildings that we get for acquired structures are just donated from the community to us, so that way we can utilize them for training, and it really benefits us," Laster said.
The realistic training scenarios ultimately benefit both firefighter safety and community protection.
Englewood Fire will conduct the same simulations on Thursday so more firefighters can participate in the realistic experience.
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